Beer Review 0225: Stone 16th Anniversary Imperial IPA

Stone Brewing Co. (Escondido, California) are big on Imperial IPAs. And they’re big on anniversaries; each year, the brewery puts out a beer to celebrate their birthday. You might remember just a few weeks ago, Stone released another Imperial IPA to celebrate the tenth year of their Ruination IPA — I scored this tongue scraper 98 points. So, we can only hope that this celebration of the company birth is a fraction as good.

An IPA is not always picked to be the anniversary brew; in the past, Stone has concocted a Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, and a more vague American Strong Ale. But when you’ve got a string of great Imperial IPAs all out in the same year, why not do another?

16th Anniversary is a 10% ABV (alcohol by volume) Imperial IPA brewed with lemon verbena and lemon oil. Lemon verbena is a flowering plant that emits a lemon scent when bruised; these are planted at Stone Farms, their organic gardening division. The hope was the lemon flavors would play nicely with Calypso and Amarillo hops, which are used in the dry-hopping of this brew. The IBUs (International Bitterness Units) register at 85.

The pour produced a large, almost huge head, creamy and lasting. As it begins to diminish, it starts to lace up the glass immediately. The beer was a darker golden/amber color, clear in body and with no particles or sediment. And the lacing, as expected, was very excellent, leaving creamy and sticky sheets all down the glass. A gorgeous beer!

On the nose, this is highly hopped, with the lemon kick coming out front and center. But the hops aren’t your traditional West Coast-style; it’s more of a grassy, herbal type of hop, with touches of grapefruit and a smattering of mango and peach. The malt character is light, with a nice rye bread and some spiciness; then, there’s a bit of alcohol to round things out. For such a big beer, this one didn’t surprise me in aroma complexity.

Tasting, there’s lemon and grassy hops up front (lemongrass, anyone?!) and it turns a bit spicy in the middle thanks to the rye. (A small amount of rye malt is used in this beer.) But then comes on a tea-like character that my palate didn’t really enjoy or expect; think weak herbal tea with a lemon squeezed in, and just like the hot tea, the lemon matches its temperature. If that makes any sense! Mouthfeel was medium, with a creamy texture and the carbonation was soft for a beer from Stone. The finish is bitter, with medicinal lemon/crushed aspirin and more of the tea. The 10% ABV warms the body.

For such a promising beer — an Imperial IPA brewed with lemon to celebrate Stone’s 16th anniversary (that sounds great, right?) — this sure does disappoint. Not only does this Imperial IPA lack flavor, but the flavor it does sport is not what I expect when thinking IPA. Over the last few months, Stone have nailed several new Imperial IPAs, but this is off the mark, unfortunately.